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Following is a question by Hon Martin Liao and a reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung kin-chung, in the Legislative Council today (June 5):
Question:
It has been reported that the suspects of several family homicide cases, which happened recently, are youngsters addicted to playing online violent electronic games (online games) at home. In addition, there have been reported incidents from time to time in which youngsters, who had been addicted to online games, quarrelled with their parents or even beat their parents who had tried to stop them from playing online games. Given that such incidents of family tragedies and family violence have aroused public concern about the impact of violent electronic games on youngsters' mental development, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it has conducted any focus studies on the correlation between violent electronic games and crimes of violence; if it has, of the details, and whether the results of such studies have shown a positive correlation between these two factors; if not, whether it will consider conducting such studies; whether it has compiled statistics on cases of youngsters who had suffered mental disorder as a result of addiction to such games in the past five years; if so, of such statistics; if not, whether it will compile such statistics;
(b) whether it has drawn up policies and measures to help youngsters addicted to violent electronic games; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; of the government bodies and community organisations in Hong Kong which currently provide psychological counselling and assistance to such youngsters; and
(c) given that some psychologists have pointed out that "home-staying men" who are addicted to online games often lack communication skills and have difficulties in making friends, resulting in the development of radical personality, whether the Government will consider enhancing contents such as self-understanding and social skills in the secondary school curriculum, and providing specialised counselling and support services for youngsters addicted to online games and surfing the Internet, so as to instil in them correct values and help them establish good interpersonal relationship?
Reply:
President,
The problems of Internet and violent electronic games addiction among young people involve different policy areas under various Government bureaux. Having consolidated the information from the bureaux concerned, our reply to Hon Martin Liao's question is as follows:
(a) The Administration has not conducted any focus studies on the correlation between violent electronic games and violent crimes or compiled any statistics on cases of young people who had mental health problems as a result of addiction to such games in the past five years. In fact, violent crimes and adolescent mental health are very complex issues involving a number of factors such as social environment, academic pressure, family and emotional problems etc. It is thus difficult to assess whether violent crimes and adolescent mental health are directly related to the addiction of violent electronic games and the degree of its impact.
(b) The Social Welfare Department (SWD) has been providing young people and their parents with socialisation programmes and holistic supportive services through 138 integrated children and youth services centres across the territory, 65 integrated family service centres and two integrated services centres in Tung Chung. Services include prevention of Internet and electronic games addiction among young people, parent support programmes as well as counselling. At the same time, SWD has been implementing the "one school social worker for each secondary school" scheme in all secondary schools over the territory to focus on supporting the majority of young people who are still at school.
Besides, SWD has commissioned three non-governmental organisations to each launch a three-year pilot cyber youth outreaching project (pilot project) since August 2011. The pilot projects use various cyber means to reach out to young people in need, including those at-risk and hidden youth, and provide them with timely intervention and supportive services on their Internet related at-risk behaviour.
On the other hand, the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer launched the five-year "i Learn at home" Internet Learning Support Programme (the Programme) in July 2011 to help students from low-income families undertake web-based learning at home. Apart from assisting low-income families to acquire affordable computers and Internet access services, the Programme also provides these families with user and social support, including training on the safe and proper use of the Internet. The implementing organisations are required to set up hotlines to provide counselling services to help students and their parents deal with online behavioural problems including Internet addiction. Referral to social workers will be arranged where necessary.
The Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration (OFNAA) has also been educating children and young people on the importance of healthy information and enhancing their ability to resist the influence of objectionable materials through various publicity and public education programmes. The OFNAA will continue with its efforts, including alerting young people to the adverse impact of violent electronic games.
Apart from the relevant Government departments, a number of non-governmental organisations are also providing services, including counselling and various forms of assistance, for young people with different needs.
(c) According to the Education Bureau (EDB), great importance has been attached to whole-person development in the school curriculum with a view to nurturing students' knowledge, skills as well as values and attitudes. The school curriculum, as a whole, covers learning contents that aim to enhance students' self-understanding, interpersonal relationships and communication skills in various Key Learning Areas/subjects and related learning experiences at both the primary and secondary levels. Under the "Life and Society" curriculum at the junior secondary level, students learn "How to establish self-confidence to face difficulties and failure", "Strategies for dealing with pressure and anxiety" and "The importance of communication among family members". In "Liberal Studies" at the senior secondary level, students explore developmental challenges and analyse current trends which may pose challenges and opportunities to young people. Many schools are also actively making use of different learning opportunities to organise seminars and sharing of current affairs to increase students' understanding of how information technology relates to, and impacts on, personal growth. Learning activities, such as project learning, simulated activities and community service, are also organised to enhance student's self-understanding, communication and social skills.
EDB will continue to provide schools with timely and appropriate curriculum support. Apart from providing teaching materials and online resources to enhance the effectiveness of learning and teaching, we will continue to organise professional development programmes on related topics, such as "How to identify and help students suffering from Internet addiction", "Exploring the effects of youths' digital media habits on their studies and family relationships" and "Abstaining from gambling and preventing Internet addiction". These will help enhance teachers' knowledge of, and skills in, fostering students' personal development, communication skills and positive values.
Ends/Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Issued at HKT 12:57
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